business in petaluma in plastic. the whole building to try to protect it. they put out sandbags at a mobile home park. generators very hot product as people get ready port possibility of losing power for a while. >> in menlo park, rest denlts and business owners can get sandbags to get ready. the city provides the sand and bags but you'll need your own shovel. there we found a restaurant owner that has learned the hard way. >> it's supposed to go down to the streets but sometimes when it rains so much, it can't hold. it flooded the kitchen so this time around i'm going to be prepared. >> sneeze sandbags are available while they last. norcal's advice to make sure you are ready for a disaster is posted at abc7news.com. you'll find that helpful guide

under see it on tv. >> several areas, they are taking new actions to protect themselves. >> neighbors in daly city is sleeping in shifts. >> amy hollyfield has more on that and action taken in pacifica where rain and sliding cliffs damaged two apartment buildings two years ago. >> this was unbelievable and unforgettable. 60 feet of hillside disappeared. two apartment buildings were condemned. as storms roll into the bay area officials say they aren't worried about a repeat performance. >> they haven't seen any advanced erosion or continued erosion since we were here two a years ago. >> these are still empty and. building next store is still full of residents.

the owner has taken steps to stabilize the hillside and more plans in the works. >> the work the people did was to secure as best they could seemed to have an effect. >> a newer problem, in hillside take roaring down two weeks ago when a pipe broke. >> we were kind of worried that more mud will flow. look at the weather. >> reporter: city officials say they feel confident the hillside will hold. if it doesn't that the measures they have put in place will steer it away from homes. the family planning to sleep in shifts so somebody will be watching the hill. >> so take four hours sleep and take over. we kind of work it that way. >> reporter: city officials will be watching, too. they stay they will be stopping by throughout the weekend to

keep an eye on that hillside not the case here in pacifica. city officials are that confident. >> we have been receiving a lot of pictures. here a tree that blocked the hillside. as the storms continue throughout the week. we invite you to e-mail our photos to us or share them on our facebook page. >> it may have been a last straw for a home in bernal heights east of mission, but it's a location of the low priority that the city puts on tree maintenance. >> a surprise for san francisco homeowner, 4:00 this morning, this tree toppled over on her house but in a way it wasn't a shock. she had been calling city hall

for months complaining about the condition of this tree. >> as the city tree and they have to maintenance it so as a homeowner i take a responsibility to tell them they need to come and check their tree. >> the tree had been dying since may. they confirmed she filed a reported but complaint never received proper attention. the challenge -- a lack of personnel. with more than 40,000 trees the city is responsible for maintaining there are only three inspectors, that is right just three. with continued budget cuts, they have reduced the pruning cycle from every three to five years to every 10 to 12. what happened here is indicative of a city wide problem. tonight at 5:00 a look at implications and what one lawmaker is proposing. >> fremont police have seized

synthetic drugs. two local smoke shops sold spice and other drugs to undercover officers. they were charged in connection with these sales. police recovered illegal drugs with a street value of $25,000. >> palo alto police are searching for a man no broke into an apartment with the intention of raping the woman who lives there. police say she woke up to tuned him standing over her bed. the woman called 911. >> screamed. she said something we're trying to determine still. a brief struggle ensued. he grabbed on to her and tried to force her down on to her bed, we believe. >> the intruder broke in through a locked and chain front door.

this attack follows a series of gropings in the same area. >> news crews as police chased down a suspected prowler this morning. they found him trespassing a house in north berkeley. they chased him for about 15 minutes before they caught and arrested him. this man, 24-year-old has been identified as the federal parole who held a s.w.a.t. team at bay for five hours. it started when they spotted him driving around in a green mustang. he was wanted for a parole violation. he rammed his car into a police cruiser and sped away. a tip led them to a house where barton surrounded. he had been in federal provides a weapons charge. he was released last week. >> a sacramento county man that is evicted from his home is facing murder charges for

shooting an unarmed animal control officer. they took joseph francis corley after a 17 hour standoff. the animal control officer was shot to death through the front door. he was going to the home to care for his pets. >> the victory for environmentalists in the north bay in the fight to protect the wilderness area. >> the secretary of interior says the oyster farm will cease operations tomorrow. >> ken salazar says the lease will expire as scheduled tomorrow. workers of the oyster company were disappointed with the decision. oyster farming has been part of the local economy for more than a hundred years. >> we are staying on storm watch. live look at 7 hd. rain is falling in ukiah, cloverdale and santa rosa. forecast is just ahead. >> also ahead, a truck driver

slams into a used car lot. tell you about bizarre cause of this accident. >> plus, two big winners. record powerball jacked. >> and later, an act of kindness. online sensation it has become today. >> coming up to 4:09 on thursday afternoon. first check on traffic. downtown san francisco, this a live look at the sky way. it's very heavy heading into the east bay. not all that much better heading southbound toward

in alameda county the driver of a big truck that smashed into a used car lot is blaming the wreck on a sneezing fit. caltrans cleaned up the oil snail was caused by the accident. the driver of the dump truck lost control while sneegz and crashed into a car lot. the driver was not cited. a bankruptcy judge gave final approval for hostess to sell its assets. the maker of twinkies it's been in talks with 110 potential buyers. there is five national retailers. they approved the request to pay $2 million in incentives to 19 senior managers. >> california is joining the

powerball party. they voted unanimously to bring the game to to the golden state. tickets were sold in arizona and dear more than, missouri. winning ticket holders will split $587 million. that is the sizes of that jackpot. the stores that sold the ticket get a $50,000. >> it's awesome. >> the jackpot rolled over 16 times. that created the largest powerball jackpot ever. it will come to california next april and they believe the game will bring in $90-120 million per year. >> and apple latest version of itunes is here. >> john joins us with today's

tech report. >> apple expanding the footprint in northern california with construction underway on a faucet of offices in santa clara. this two building campus is sitting on the north side of stephens creek boulevard. a short distance from the cupertino city limits. they reported the first building set to be complete by the middle of 2014. no word on when the second building will be fchbd. nor apple news, unveiling the latest update to itunes, media service has new look and feel, integrated more closely with the i-cloud service. the new version of itunes was originally released next month but apple said they need more time to develop changes. changes are coming in the relationship between facebook and zynga. they agreed to a revised partnership deal.

zynga's game page will no longer have to use facebook as the social platform. meanwhile, facebook will be allowed to develop its own games. the agreement takes effect in march. as for the stock market, closing higher after treasury secretary headed to capitol hill for fiscal cliff negotiations. as for bloomberg silicon valley index, it ended up, as well. getting back to daily deals, there is a business that is troubled and another company, living social. it just laid off about 400 employees, roughly 10 percent of its total work force. this comes after amazon took $169 million write down last quarter in it's stake. we've seen scattered showers throughout the day but only the beginning of what is to come.

>> some in is little bit of a lull. >> absolutely. that is going to spell trouble. winds over the higher terrain, gusting 40-50 miles an hour. here is a live picture. you can see a wet and windy scene there. the vein steady in the north bay. i want to show you live doppler 7-hd. you will see it's pretty widespread. let me take you in closer and shoe you where it is range from ukiah down to cloverdale. the rain ahead of the storm down to street level. river road, fountain grove parkway, rainfall right now but it's light. stronger winds are coming for the morning. rain continues on saturday and stormy conditions on sunday. let's get to the radar and satellite. we have a very large circulation, this is storm

number two. one went through yesterday. this is the second one is that coming. it has a good subtropical cap which means we're going to see quite a bit of rain. it's going to be a slow moving system. rains vain in the north bay and lighter showers across the rest of the bay area. don't be surprised if you are picking up light showers. 4:00 a.m., north bay is getting slammed during the morning rush hour. you can see pretty widespread and heavy rainfall, strong winds. we're looking at thunderstorm potential. 8:00 a.m. still parked over the east bay, parts of the south bay in terms of the heaviest. the cold front will be very slow going. 10:00 a.m. very heavy rain and wind, lynde it by the lunch hour the rain begins to let up. we'll continue to see periods of rain going right through saturday. this is the in between systems. then saturday afternoon,

moderate pockets of rain. sunday morning is when the third one arrives. this will bring significant rain between 6:00 and 8:00 a.m. it will be rough with this one. could even see some drenching rains with thunderstorm potential especially over the santa cruz mountains. 9:00 a.m. rainfall totals are frightening. up to a foot of rain in the north bay mountains up to 9:00 a.m. sunday. half a foot in the santa cruz mountains. four to eight inches in the north bay. south bay, up to 3 inches of rain. this covers the second and part of the third storm. this is why we have all these advisories and watches. wind advisory i can see all the areas that are covered. it runs until 1:00 a.m. on friday and wind advisory for the north bay mountains and coast runs 7:00 a.m. watch out for downed trees, power lines, flood watch begins at 7:00 p.m. at night and covers

north bay down to the santa cruz mountains. small streams may overflow their banks. watch out for urban flooding and high surf advisory. seas are expected to come up to 19 feet. stormy weather, give yourself plenty of time. temperatures in the 50s and grab your rain gear. heaviest of the rain in the east bay and south bay. temperatures will be in the 50s to 60s. accu-weather seven-day forecast, it will be a rough one right on through sunday morning with the stormiest time period. we get a break on monday and then chances of rain tuesday and wednesday but they don't look as impressive. >> dancing with stars pro taking a break for acting. >> joe biden goes on a shopping spree, personal trip to help the economy. >> and taking a live look at traffic right now. this is golden gate bridge, cars

heading into the city the headlights coming toward us is very light. a little heavier for making it over the bridge to marin county.

>> larry: taking a look at live doppler 7 hd.

you can see the patches of green. that is where the rain has begun ukiah and parts of sanity rose. you can see vallejo and san francisco not quite there and san jose. blue part of the screen is an indication there is misting or light rain. sandhya will keep you posted throughout the afternoon. >> carolyn: lindsay lohan is in trouble with the law. she was arrested on assault charges early this morning. police say she hit a woman in the face during an argument. that club avenue at chelsea. few hours she was charged in california for a car crash earlier this year. they accuse her of reckless driving as she crashed her porche in the back of a dump truck. >> we're hearing that joe jackson is being treated at las vegas hospital. michael jackson's father is in good spirits and expected to be sent on home on friday. he has had several small strokes.

it occurred twice before this. >> carolyn: they talk about the hobbit and "dancing with the stars" pro is going to take an acting gig. >> the hobbit, it doesn't hit theaters. but hit a world premiere in new zealand. peter jackson and other stars were there for the celebration. and the star talked about the film's title. >> it's an unexpected journey but for all of us it was extremely unexpected. >> it's an unexpected journey and arrives in theaters december 14. he may not have taken over the trophy but he will guest star on general hospital. check out these photos as boxing instructor. his regular is a regular on the drama. it airs on december 10. and starting to feel like

christmas. the stars came out last night for the annual tree lightning concert in downtown los angeles. >> the turkey from thanksgiving has finally worn off. all the leftovers are gone. it's falalala time. >> and barry manilow also performed. >> carolyn: still ahead. mitt romney goes to lunch at the white house. the conversation between former presidential rivals. >> happening now, i'm david louie on storm watch standing a a creek in east palo alto. they are using high-tech to monitor the conditions. >> then david petraeus talks about his relationship that cost him his job. >> i'm michael finney all that

connected to hundreds of dollars. i will let you know the biggest ways you can save on your

>> carolyn: we are on storm watch. here is a live look at what live doppler 7-hd. the system is still moving into the bay area. we are ready for another major soaking and network of web cameras monitoring areas that is causing problems. >> larry: david louie has a look at the technology. >> reporter: it shouldn't be any surprise that here? silicon valley they are icing high-tech. i am standing next to a benign creek right now, but it is flood prone. it can be raging waters and because of all the storm runoff. there is rain gauges and web cams and even sonar to monitor the runoff as the creek channels the water downhill to san francisco bay. 5800 properties line the creek or adjacent flood zone along the

county border. residents of menlo park and palo alto to see video from the web cams and in some cases they will get other kinds of alerts. >> when the rainfalls and the upper watershed, it takes at least an hour for it to get down to this location. we will have a warning in the foothills. we also wanted to know what is happening right no here. this is the one of the areas of greatest threat. >> this is what happened in 1998 when the creek spilled over the banks and flooded homes. that was considered a once in 50 year flood. officials now are working on improvement project to address a hundred year event. if you like to take a look at web cams, go to our website at abc7news.com. we'll link you to the two agencies that have the web cams online.

>> carolyn: thank you. >> larry: a power lunch to beat all power lunch. >> president obama and mitt romney broke bread. they haven't seen each other since the final debate. >> larry: the president invited him to discuss ways to make government more efficient. officials say the two promised to stay in touch but did not mention if they talked about the fiscal cliff. that cliff was definitely the topic at other meetings in washington. timothy geithner met with congressional leader but did not reach any agreement. if no action is taken by december 31, $650 billion in cuts to pentagon and domestic programs and tax increases will automaticly go into effect. republicans are complaining. democrats are not playing fair. >> democrats have yet to get serious about real spending cuts.

secondly, no substantive progress has been made in the talks between the white house and the house over the last two weeks. this is not a game. >> carolyn: joe biden went christmas shopping in the capitol at a discount store. he strolled into costco and buying apple pie. he told reporters falling o-cliff klif is not an option. >> look around here. consumer confidence is growing. last thing we need to do is dash that now by being unable to extend middle-class tax cuts. >> carolyn: costco is hedging. they announced they will pay $3 billion dividend before the end of the year. that will save share hold ears lot of money. >> 138 countries voted to grant

they voted against the measure which could make it easier for palestinian authority to pursue israel in international court. mahmoud ahmadinejad addressed the. >> mahmoud abbas addressed. they say they need to give legitimacy to those negotiations. >> continental airlines was cleared of involuntary manslaughter charges linked to a crash after a air france concord. french court absolved them of all criminal wrongdoing. all 109 people aboard the jet were killed along with four people on the ground. the court also overturned the conviction of a continental mechanic who was accused of using a wrong part prior to the flight. >> new development in the david petraeus controversy that cost the c.i.a. director his job. for the first time we here hearing from the former general himself about his affair with paula broadwell.

here is more on the letter he wrote to a friend and fellow general about that relationship. >> it's been almost three weeks since he stepped down as head of the c.i.a. after admitting he had a extramarital affair. we are hearing from the four-star general himself. in a personal letter to he was candid. >> he said dear jim, i can't thank you enough for your note. kind words and support. i can't tell you how much it all meant. i screwed up royally. i paid the price appropriately. >> long retired general james shelton has been friends with him for more than three decades. he said last week petraeus responded with this note. >> he will survive. i have obviously created enormous difficulty for us. >> he has been married for his wife for 38 years. they met when he was a student

at west point and her father was the director there. he writes that holly is quote once again demonstrating how incredibly fortunate i was to marry her. her admission of the affair with his biographer shocked washington and the militarily. shelton said he never met broadwell but spoke to her on the phone. >> i don't think she wove a web around dave and dragged him in. i don't think that at all. it was mutual i think. >> he said he made a one time mistake. >> world aids day and where i can get tested for free. >> the police officer who helped a home man bhan no shoes but

this picture can teach all of us. >> i'm sandhya patel. live 7 hd, we do have heavier rain and stronger winds coming. details coming up. >> we'll technical check at 4:35. a look at san mateo bridge. that is a little heavier than on the right side of screen that is headed to the peninsula. stay with us,

soda and now caviar. among the displays they can find vending machines selling it. it ranges to $12 type to $500. they offer oils and even gourmet salts. this is the first time u.s. residents will have access to caviar in vending machines. >> apparently a great need if you are hunkering down with your caviar. >> it's going to be serious f the next couple of days. live doppler, it shows you what it's going to look like. we're seeing steady rain, cloverdale, santa rosa, lighter showers around petaluma, novato. street level, eighth street and napa road, very light returns around sonoma area.

this is only going to get heavier. so there is concern about some of our rivers. russian river near hopland, flood stage is 21 feet. it is currently over 3 feet and it is expected to crest midday sunday above flood stage. we're talking up to 25 feet. keep an eye on the rivers if you live or work in near that area. russian river at guerneville, flood stage is 32 feet, it's almost 7 feet and expected to crest at 29 feet which is below flood stage, once again, with significant rain expected could see rapid rises on those rivers. that could very much change as we hit the weekend. winter storm warnings until 4:00 p.m. friday in sierra, nevada. we're expecting two to four feet below 8500 feet. carry your chains if you are heading to tahoe.

stormy in the morning for the teirn bay area. stormiest shifts to the south an east. temperatures in the upper 50s to mid-60s for friday afternoon. it's going be rough go getting out of town tomorrow. it really doesn't end then. it continues right through the weekend. >> carolyn: thanks. >> larry: a new york city police officer's act of kindness has sparked a sensation. they took the cellphone picture giving new boots to a homeless man. she saw the officer giving the man boots and socks. she posted the image on the police department's facebook page tuesday night and since then it's an instant hit. she wanted everybody to see what he witnessed. >> he had boots in his hand. i heard him, i have size 12 all leather boots for you. let's take care of you. the gentleman sat down against the wall. his face lit up.

he smiled. >> he said he keeps the receipt into his vest that no matter how bad his day seems, there are other people that have it much, much worse. >> elevator prank russian style. >> hear with a loot look on youtube today. a run down without some gangnam stuff. remix from matt. he finally makes it to russian federation. >> he has truly gone global. hitting the top spoch as much watched video of all time. back in october, rich ferguson went viral to a lesser extent

that with it make look like his head was coming off. now she riding on an elevator. it's been a big week for videos of cool elevator pranks. they made their elevator was haunted and started a controversy whether the gags were going too far. see you next time bay area. >> larry: coming up at 4:00, he wanted to keep a permanent reminder romney campaign on his face and why he has changed his mind. >> i'm michael finney, switching cellphone carriers, want to know which kx1ñ ñ

>> carolyn: secretary of state unveil aed a new plan to stop the spread of aids. >> it's far wider access to the best drugs available. it's part of a u.s. commitment that includes a 200% increase on aids vaccine research and aids

free generation is a goal within reach. aids related deaths have dropped 25% over the last six years but 34 million people worldwide is hiv positive. >> they are offering free hiv testing. in san francisco the mission neighborhood health center will providing testing from 10:00 to 4:00 tomorrow. in o saturday men's wellness will have aids testing between 1:00 and 3:00. for a list of all the locations, go to our website at abc7news.com. >> larry: consumer news, average household spends more than $1500 every year on cellphone service. >> there are ways you can save. michael finney is here with important advice for us. >> reporter: you can save a lot of money. if you are looking a to save money on your cellphone bill. but a prepaid plan may be your best option.

>> it seems like just about everybody is on a smart phone these days and we are paying big buck forces all that connectivity. >> the average household spent $1500 a year. >> consumer reports says a prepaid phone plan can be a smart way to save. >> two-thirds of our subscribers switched to prepaid service knocked $20 or more off their costs. >> prepaid services are offered from companies like straight talk and metro pcs. verizon and at&t also offered prepaid plans. >> they either pay as you go or monthly allocations of minutes. you may pay more up front for the phone but you can save in the long run. >> the phones offered with prepaid plans used to be the

basics. now, they offer smart phones. galaxy s-3 is available from metro pcs and cricket wireless. if you don't need the absolutely latest smart phone, they recommend straight touch prepaid plans through walmart. >> it's interesting that people in our survey were happier with straight talk than any of the major carriers. >>they have several plans, $45 a month unlimited talk, text and data. that is half the price of verizon's cheapers unlimited plan. >> they say another money saving tip. when you are off a contract. you don't want to a new one, soo ask if you transfer the plan to a current carrier and if not that, consider going to a new carrier. you can get the same service for a whole lot less. coming up at 5:00, i'll show you

how people in the bay area rate their cellphone companies, which ones come out on top. >> larry: i know who came out last. [ laughter ] >> there is a flip-flop from the guy with the romney logo tattoo on the face. >> carolyn: two weeks ago declaring he had no regrets, he now says he is going to have a tattoo removed. he had it inked on while auctioning off o his face for $15,000. >> he decided to have it removed because he says romney has been in his words a sore loser. that is going to be a very painful switch. it's going to more painful for him than mr. romney. >> keeping the streets of oakland safer. they are trying to stop the violence there. >> and grand canyon could be a

lot older than we first thought. >> i'm cheryl jennings, coming up, water treatment plant coming up with a recycling plant that may be tough for some customers. this time an animal trapped in

in oakland they are pushing to get more officers on the streets to fight increasing violence in the city. >> carolyn: nick smith is live at police headquarters with the story. >> reporter: oakland police chief howard jordan says, quote the city of oakland has faced a horrible crime epidemic at levels that are unacceptable. they initiated new violence suppression tactics just last week. he is assigning 20 more officers

to curb the violence but if city leaders have that air their way this will only be the first step. >> we are looking at unbelievable crime rates. >> no one knows that better than this man. this east oakland resident did not want to show his face on camera because he fear forces his life. >> i don't want to be seen. i want to live my life. >> this is not the first time that our cameras have been to this neighborhood. at least 38 rounds were fired in the middle of the day calling residents to take cover behind cars and bushes. we were back two weeks later to find police investigating a midday homicide that left even more shell case option the ground from what police call epidemic of illegal weapons. >> we just committed more officers to be o with atf to

specifically goes after firearms traffickers. >> city council members are spearheading an effort to get chief jordan the help he needs to use money that is budgeted for the next fiscal year. normally they would have to wait until july to change the city budgeted but there is nothing normal about the situation or the growing violence in oakland. >> we need to start the ball rolling, to get every police officer that we are capable of hiring trained and hired. >> none can come too soon? >> i want peace. i pray that something can be done in this area. >> council members are asking that the city immediately prepare for another police academy and agree to hire 20 police technicians and should the alameda county sheriff's office to help with the violence suppression, they want to review the agreement after 90 days.

nick smith, abc7 news. >> it is one of the most common questions asked by visitors at grand canyon. how old is it? new study it was probably carved out about 70 million years ago. so early that dinosaurs might have roamed near this natural wonder. researchers used a new tool to dated the age of the rocks. main scientists believed it was 5-6 million years ago. critics say this new study ignores evidence pointing to a young landscape and they have doubts about the technique that was used to do this recent dating. >> carolyn: quite a difference. thanks for joining us. >> larry: we've been getting photos. she raising her daughter the right way to love the raiders. look at that smile. >> carolyn: here is another one.

showing some of the crazy costumes that people pull out for the raiders' games. >> larry: i believe is that violater. i think she an insurance salesman. that tempers it. we wanted to see. e-mail your photos and we'll post the pictures at abc7news.com and also show them on the air. >> carolyn: be sure to join us with raiders day when we broadcast the game live at 5:00. >> larry: abc news at 5:00 begins right now with dan and cheryl. >> dan: the search in palo alto to find a dangerous intruder who went to great lengths to attack a woman. >> i'm meteorologist sandhya patel. we're tracking rain right now but a strong storm is about to hit the bay area. it spell serious trouble.

>> cheryl: and the south bay new water treatment plant comes with a recycling idea that may make it tough for some customers to swallow. >> people are stacking sandbags and protecting their property all across the bay area as we wait for storm number two. this one is expected to be stronger system that could stall over the bay area with a lot of water in it. >> these are some of the rain clouds that were over san jose earlier today growing ever more dreary as the day goes on. >> live mount tamalpais camera where the rain and winter kicking in. >> dan: national weather service has issued a flash flood watch starting at 7:00 tonight. let's go to sandhya patel. >> dan and cheryl, i wanted to show you live doppler. it's raining not north bay and

other parts is picking up light showers. we have a slow moving storm that is going to soak the bay area. it's not on doppler yet. we'll go to the north bay and we are seeing rainfall from cloverdale to healdsburg down to windsor area. lighter rainfall, dry creek road near yountville, eighth street. show you novato. it's raining, larkspur and tiburon. you can see the moisture approaching san francisco. we are already seeing mist and drizzle down to the south bay around san jose, campbell out towards tully road. it's a very large circulation. it has a lot of moisture. steady rain in the north bay and heaviest comes in at 4:00 a.m. you notice the oranges and yell